Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-09-17
SATURDAY. .SEPTR17, 1887.
The Bar Sinister.

Mr. HAYES was present IN Phlladel-
phia the other day with the rest OF the
dignitaries and ex.dignitaries who had
been honorcd with invitations TO par
ticipate in the ceremonies Of the occa-
sion. But was there one man in the
crowd that gazed at the ex-President
who did not regard him as, to say the
least, man whose title to the honOrs
he was receiving was not good? Was
there one present who did not say to
himself that MIR. TILDEy was elected
to the Office which Mr.. HAYES occu-
pied for four years and for the Occu-
pancy of which these attentions were
bestowed upon him? 1t must be 50.
Every body in Philadelphia who saw
Mr.. HAYES must have regarded him as
at least unfortunate.
"Be sure your sin will find you ont. "
Mr.. HAYEs'S title was a good one in
law because the electoral votes were
counted as the Constitution and laws
prescribed they should be counted, and
he was declared to I've the duly-elected
President by the very Senate and
House of Representatives which should
have declared that Mr.. TILDEv had
been elected TO that Office. But not
witbstanding these facts, there is q
cloud upon Mr.. HAYEs's title to the Of
fee, which may never be removed. He
was, SO TO speak, nui'us .fiiUs, but n
new law came TO his relief
IT was much better that Mr. HAYES
should have been allowed to serve out
term in the Office of President than
that the peace of the country should
have been imperilled by an armed OPP
position to his induction into that
Office.
In one form or another it would
seem to be the destiny of the people Of
this country to repeat the experience
Of the people OF their mother country,
England. Queen MARY had no conSti-
iutional title to the crown of England.
Much less had her husband. WILLIAM
and MARY, however, are always
spoken OF as if one or both of
them had beeu the constitutional
heirs to the crown. We say "cOnsti-
tuiional because Of course Parliament
bad done all it could TO validate the
title Of MARY. Eut the rightful heir
TO the throne was living and OF course
his assent to the pretended laws by vir-
the Of which sire became Queen was
never obtained. As MARY had a de-
fectivc title, it follows that her sister,
Queen ANN, had like defective title,
as indeed has had every subsequent oc-
cupcnt Of the British throne. We, Oh
tie oih,r hand. in this country, have
had hut one President whose title {!
tie Office was defective; ana as our
Presidents do not inherit the Office, the
validity of the title Of no one of them
can depend upon the validity OF the
title of any other of them.
There was no power in England that
could cure the defect in Queen MARY's
title. No bill to perfect her title became
a law or could become a law as required
by the Constitution or unwrltten law
of England. But in this country the
law under the operation of which MIR.
HAYES became President was valid
act of Congress. 1t had no defect, see
ing that it was passed by both houses
of Congress and signed by the lawful
President OF the United States General
GRANT. 1t was Mr.. HAYEs's moral
title which was so defective that, as we
have said, it must forever remain under
a cloud.